" You left those children with me when that boy was a year old and covered head to hide with infected insect bites. Naomi was four and didn’t even talk until she was almost six…”


“Don’t make it out like it was such a big deal,” interrupted Skyla. “Naomi was always stubborn and quiet, and Owen just had a few flea bites.”

“No, ma’am,” said Gram. “Naomi went to a counselor for two years. She had selective mutism, that’s what it’s called, from insecurities and Lord knows what other trauma during her young life. That’s what the counselor told us, and Naomi still doesn’t talk much. Owen was on antibiotics for three months to get him cleared up. There’s no telling what went on in Mexico that caused those children’s abdominations. And now, 7 years later, after you never sent a card or made a telephone call to even let us know you were alive, you want to talk about your rights? "

― Pam Muñoz Ryan , Becoming Naomi León